DoubleDragon sells P5-b notes

DoubleDragon Properties Corp., a joint venture between Edjar Sia II and Tony Tan Caktiong, said Monday it raised another P5 billion in fixed rate corporate notes to finance ongoing real estate projects that will strengthen the company’s thrust to become one of the top leading property firms in the country.

“This signifies strong confidence in DoubleDragon’s strategic direction and will add momentum to the company’s targeted rollout of 100 CityMalls by 2020,” DoubleDragon said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The corporate notes have a tenor of seven years.

The company expects to have 25 CityMalls in different stages of completion By June 2015. The wider base will ensure the company to meet its target completion of 25 CityMalls by the end of this year.

DoubleDragon has envisioned CityMall to become the largest independent chain of community malls in the country .

“DoubleDragon has already secured more than half of the land required to develop its targeted 1 million square meters of total leasable space within the next five years. Only a little over a year since its initial public offering in the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company has been able to consolidate a string of prime commercial properties across the country totaling to about 35.2 hectares,” said Sia, who is the chairman of DoubleDragon.

DoubleDragon last year also issued P7.4 billion from the issuance of seven-year fixed rate corporate notes.

Despite issuing another P5 billion, DoubleDragon said the company would continue to have healthy financial leverage ratios.

DoubleDragon chief investment officer Marianna Yulo earlier said the company preferred to raise funds through the debt market, instead of the equities market. He said the future valuation of the company’s shares would significantly increase, with the completion of community mall projects and office and real estate developments in the pipeline.

Aside from the completion of 25 CityMalls, DoubleDraong is set to open next month Dragon 8 Shopping Center in Divisoria.

DoubleDragon is developing a 33.4-hectare property located at the corner of Edsa and Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City into a mixed-use development.

The Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) first came into being as the Chamber of Philippine Department Stores and Retailers, Inc. (CPDSRI) in 1976. In 1991, after winning the bid to host the 6th Asian Retailers Conference and Expo, the bi-annual event of the Federation of Asian Retail Associations (FARA), the Chamber changed its name into Philippine Retailers Association and adopted the now famous shopping bag logo.